Railroad-tie.



J. B. McMILLAN.

RAILROAD TIE.

APPLIOATIOH mum we. so, 1909.

957,081. Patented May'3, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAIRUS B. MOMILLAN, OF NORTH VERNON, INDIANA.

RAILROAD-TIE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AIRUS B. MOMILLAN, citizen of the United States, residing at North Vernon, in the county of Jennings and State of Indiana, have invented certa1n new and useful Improvements in Railroad- Ties of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railroad ties, and particularly to a tie composed of a metal sheathing inclosing a concrete or artificial stone core, such a tie being a substitute for the wooden tie ordinarily in use today upon railroads, the object of the invention being to provide a tie of this character, which is exceedingly simple in construction, which is practically indestructible, which has sufficient wei ht and solidity to adapt it for the purpose designed, and which permits of the rails being very solidly connected to the tie without the use of spikes, the tie being of such shape that the earth may be very easily tamped beneath the tie so that it will hold rigidly in place.

In its general features, the tie comprises a casing of metal, very simply made, filled with a core of concrete, artificial stone or like material. The tie, after it is formed, is triangular in cross section, the apex of the tie being downward when the tie is in place. Bolts are embedded within the concrete of the tie, and project out therefrom, these bolts being adapted to extend through the flanges of the rails supported on the tie, to hold the rails in place. Peculiar shaped washers are used, which will hold the nuts from any rotative movement.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof and to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a section of track supported on my improved ties; Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective of one of the ties with a fragment of rail supported thereon; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a blank; and, Fig. 4 is a detail view of the means for holding the nut from turning.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to Fig. 3, 2 designates an upper plate of the sheet metal blank from which the tie casing is preferably made. This Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 30, 1909.

Patented May 3, 1910.

Serial No. 515,247.

blank has the opposed side flaps 3 and the opposed end flaps 4. The side flaps are adapted to be folded upon the dotted line 5 until the free ends of the side flaps touch. One end flap 4 is then to be folded down over the side flaps 3 and then bent, as shown in Fig. 1,to form wings 6 which extend over the ends of the converging side flaps. These wings are then fastened to the side flaps by rivets 7 or in any suitable manner. The side flaps are also fastened to each other by rivets 8 or any other suitable means. The upper face or top plate 2 of the casing thus formed is perforated at its opposed ends for the passage of bolts 10. These bolts are formed with a relatively large head 11 which is inclosed within the tie. After the bolts are in place, a filling 12 of concrete, artificial stone or other like material is poured into the casing and solidly tamped therein, after which the open end flap is turned down and the wings 6 bent over, as previously described,

to close the end of the casing. After the concrete or artificial stone has set, the tie is practically a solid artificial stone tie, but entirely inclosed in a metal sheathing which is preferably galvanized or otherwise protected from corrosion. Even if the concrete or artificial stone core .12 should crack, no particular damage would occur, as the core is inclosed in its metal sheathing and is moreover anchored to the metal sheathing by the rivets 7 and 8 and by the bolts 11.

The upper ends of the bolts 10 are of course serew-threaded for engagement with nuts 13. The rails A of the track have bolt holes through their base flanges a, and through these bolt holes pass the bolts 10. Preferably the bolts of one tie are arranged to engage the inside flange of the rail, while the bolts of the next successive tie engage the outer base flange, as shown in Fig. 1. In order to hold the nuts 13 in place, after they have been screwed down upon the base flanges of the rails, I provide the washers 14, one of which is shown in Fig. 4. Each washer is preferably square in plan and has projecting upward from one side, the flange 1.5 which is adapted to contact with the fiat side of the nut. Another side of the washer has projecting downward from it the flat flange 16 which is adapted to contact with the edge of the base flange. It will be seen that the washer cannot turn, because of its contact with the base flange, and that the nut cannot turn, for the reason that the face of the nut contacts with the upwardly extending flange 15. Of course the flange 15 is turned upward after the nut is in place.

My invention provides a very simple tie, easily constructed by unskilled labor, and adapted to be made at the place where the railroad is being built, it being only neces sary to transport the sheet metal blanks and the cement, and then to form the sheet metal blanks as they are needed, and fill them with cement, as before described. The peculiar triangular shape of the tie, the apex of the triangle being downward, provides for a very easy and solid filling of the earth beneath the tie and beneath the rails, the tri angular form further acting to allow the ties and the rails thereon to be forced downward firmly into the ballast of the road bed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. A railroad tie comprising a metallic casing having a triangular shape in cross section, the base of the triangle being adapted to support a rail and the apex of the triangle being downward when in place, a core of artificial stone filling said casing, and rail-attaching means embedded in the core and projecting through the casing on the upper face of the tie.

2. A railroad tie comprising a triangular metallic casing closed at its ends, the base of the triangle being adapted to support a rail and the apex of the triangle being downward when in place, a core of artificial stone filling the metallic casing, bolts passing transversely through the core and casing, and

bolts embedded at one end of the core and passing up through the upper face of the tie, said bolts being formed on their inner ends with heads with which the artificial stone core engages,said bolts being adapted to be engaged with a rail.

3. A railroad tie comprising a metallic casing, triangular in cross section, the base of the triangle being adapted to support a rail, and the apex of the triangle being downward when in place, a core of artificial stone filling the interior of the casing, bolts projecting through the casing, the inner ends of the bolts being'received within the core, and caps closing the ends of the casing, saidcaps being formed integral with the body of the closed casing and folded over said ends.

4. A railroad tie comprising a casing having a top plate, side flaps and end flaps, the side flaps being bent downward and inward toward each other, the end flaps being folded against the ends of the side flaps, the edges of the end flaps being bent over upon the side flaps and riveted thereto, a filling of artificial stone, and railattaching devices 'having heads located inside the casing and engaged by the filling and projecting upward from the upper face of the tie.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAIRUS B. MoMILLAN. 

